During the late 1990’s and beyond, oil prices will be stagnant while costs increase, competition for markets and capital will be fierce, funds available for exploration and development will be limited, and environmental extremists will keep prospective areas off-limits. Higher taxes will limit growth in oil and gas demand and reapportion energy market shares. And a campaign to brand oil use as an "addiction" that must be cured will gather steam. But opportunities abound, too, even in the U.S. High-quality properties are available throughout the U.S., independents can find and develop reserves cheaper than the majors, and new tools are available to reduce risks both in the field and in the market. Gas prices are firming and natural gas is often labeled the "fuel of the future." To succeed in the petroleum industry of the 1990’s, all companies must accept change, be creative, and take initiative. To prosper, oil and gas producers and refiners and those who supply and serve the industry must face the new realities of the market They cannot mark time until the return of 4,000 active rigs and $40/bbl oil. Those days art : never coming back. Never.